Prime Minister General Sirichai Distakul chaired the Ministry of Labour third meeting this ear at the Prasong Rananant Conference room today (17 March 2017). He spoke about plans after permission was granted to Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian workers holding pink cards to return home during the Songkran festivities and come back to Thailand within 30 April. In returning home, the workers must request a letter from the Department of Employment of provincial employment office which outlines the intention to return home. This will then need to be presented at the immigration point with the worker’s pink card. Upon return into the Kingdom, workers must return through the same immigration point for a visa stamp, which will be free of charge. Foreign workers holding passports and leaving during the given period but unable to return within the given time will be required to apply for re-entry, where a fee will be inflicted. High volumes of foreign workers are expected to return home during the festivities, therefore the Ministry of Interior will issue the statement on exemption during the Songkran festivals and amend the necessary legislation.
The Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General and spokesperson said, “Workers in the fishing and seafood processing industry, with pink cards expiring 31 January and 22 February 2017 respectively, will receive an opportunity from the Department of Employment to extend the expiration period to 1 November 2017. Workers intending to get the extension will need to do so within 31 March 2016. A total of 47,000 out of 146,448 Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian workers have already let their pink cards expire, therefore another 99,000 remain. To facilitate this, we ask that employer assist their workers in processing their extensions.”
